Each of the below U.S. Patents and Applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,818 discloses an electrical control system for trimming a pair of stern motors or drives mounted side-by-side on a boat. The two drives are both jointly and independently movable through a plurality of trim positions. The system includes two trim cylinders, each coupled to one associated drive, to move its associated drive to different trim positions both jointly as well as independently of each other. An operator controlled mechanism energizes and de-energizes the two trim cylinders simultaneously to jointly vary the trim position of the two drives. Two lines, each coupled at its first end to one associated drive, independently detect both the angular trim position of its associated drive with respect to the other drive as well as detects the trim position of the two drives jointly. Detection apparatus is coupled to the second end of each of the two lines and is responsive to the two lines when the two drives are not in the desired equal trim position with respect to each other for controlling switches to inactivate one of the trim cylinders and thereby moves the other of the trim cylinders with respect to the inactivated one trim cylinder until the desired equal trim position is achieved between the two drives.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,292 discloses a system for optimizing the speed of a boat at a particular throttle setting that utilizes sensed speed changes to vary the boat drive unit position vertically and to vary the drive unit trim position. The measurement of boat speed before and after an incremental change in vertical position or trim is used in conjunction with a selected minimum speed change increment to effect subsequent alternate control strategies. Depending on the relative difference in before and after speeds, the system will automatically continue incremental movement of the drive unit in the same direction, hold the drive unit in its present position, or move the drive unit an incremental amount in the opposite direction to its previous position. The alternate control strategies minimize the effects of initial incremental movement in the wrong direction, eliminate excessive position hunting by the system, and minimize drive unit repositioning which has little or no practical effect on speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,391 discloses an automatically adjustable trim system for a marine propulsion system that provides automatic trimming of the propeller in response to increased loads on the propeller. A propulsion unit is attached to a boat transom through a tilt mechanism including a transom bracket and a swivel bracket. In a first embodiment, the transom bracket is clamped to a flexible transom which flexes in response to forces exerted on the transom during acceleration. In a second embodiment, the transom bracket is clamped to a transom bracket mounting platform that is generally parallel to and pivotally attached to the transom. A trim angle biasing mechanism is mounted between the transom and the transom bracket mounting platform for automatically adjusting the trim angle. A third embodiment includes a trim angle biasing mechanism incorporated into the transom bracket or swivel bracket. A fourth embodiment includes a spring-loaded pawl assembly between the swivel bracket and transom bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,237 discloses a trim tab control system in which four buttons or switches are provided for the marine operator in which the operator can select to raise the bow, raise the stern, raise the port side of the boat, or raise the stern side of the boat in relative terms, and the system will automatically position the trim tabs to most efficiently achieve the operator's demanded change in position of the marine vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,728 discloses a trim tab monitoring circuit which receives a signal that is representative of a voltage potential across a stator winding of a motor which is attached to the trim tab. This signal is passed through a high pass filter to remove the DC component of the signal, amplified, and passed through a low pass filter to remove certain high frequencies components of the signal. A zero crossing detector is used to discern individual pulses which are then received by a counter that provides a single output pulse for a predetermined number of input pulses. The series of output pulses from the counter are conditioned and, in conjunction with a direction sensor, provided to an up/down counter controller that provides digital signals to a signal output circuit. The signal output circuit provides a DC voltage output to a display and the DC output voltage is representative of the position of the trim tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,456 discloses an automatic trim control system that changes the trim angle of a marine propulsion device as a function of the speed of the marine vessel relative to the water in which it is operated. The changing of the trim angle occurs between first and second speed magnitudes which operate as minimum and maximum speed thresholds.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,457,820 discloses a method for controlling the operation of a marine vessel subject to porpoising. The method includes sensing an operational characteristic of the marine vessel which is indicative of porpoising of the marine vessel, and responding to the sensing of the operational characteristic with a response that is representative of the operational characteristic of the marine vessel as being indicative of the porpoising of the marine vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,278,740 discloses a system for controlling an attitude of a marine vessel having first and second trim tabs includes a controller having vessel roll and pitch control sections. The pitch control section compares an actual vessel pitch angle to a predetermined desired vessel pitch angle and outputs a deployment setpoint that is calculated to achieve the desired pitch angle. The roll control section compares an actual vessel roll angle to a predetermined desired vessel roll angle, and outputs a desired differential between the first and second deployments that is calculated to maintain the vessel at the desired vessel roll angle. When the controller determines that the magnitude of a requested vessel turn is greater than a first predetermined threshold, the controller decreases the desired differential between the first and second deployments, and accounts for the decreased desired differential deployment in its calculation of the first and second deployments.